(Minghui.org) Mary started practicing Falun Gong before 1999. She was detained, incarcerated in labor camps, and imprisoned after Jiang Zemin, the former head of the communist regime, launched the persecution in 1999.

Her community administrator recently stopped her salary because she'd filed a complaint against Jiang Zemin.

She was frustrated, because she did not know the relevant laws that would allow her to protect her rights. In addition, she thought she had xinxing issues and did not have strong righteous thoughts. She did not expect good results, even if she filed a lawsuit. Although she looked within and sent righteous thoughts, she continued to be persecuted. She could not figure out what to do.

Avoiding Persecution

Actually, situations like Mary's can be found in different areas in China. Some who have practiced Falun Gong for a long time are still being persecuted or interfered with, economically, physically, and legally.

That information worried me. I think most instances of persecution can be avoided. They occur because we are not well versed when it comes to true cultivation.

One should not accuse a veteran practitioner of not being well-versed when it comes to cultivation – they are knowledgeable when it comes to studying the Fa, sending righteous thoughts, and raising awareness of the CCP's persecution. Practitioners that are being persecuted frequently include those that everyone else thinks are very diligent.

I was detained just as the persecution began in 1999 and met a fellow female practitioner in the detention center. She could recite Zhuan Falun, but she went astray in her cultivation and cooperated with the police to persecute practitioners. There was a male practitioner who could recite the book, too, yet he gave up his belief.

I wondered why, because I thought that practitioners who could recite the book must have been cultivating really well. In reality, that was not true. There are practitioners who cannot recite the book but are steadfast in their cultivation.

Reading Superficially

Why so? I thought over this for a long time. Along with studying the Fa, I gradually found the answer and the root cause – it was studying the Fa superficially. Many practitioners being persecuted have the same issue.

Many practitioners may not agree as we all follow Master Li's requirement of studying the Fa. Superficially, we study the Fa every day for a fixed length of time or a given number of pages. The key issue is, “Do you assimilate to the Fa whey you study the Fa?”

I've also participated in different Fa-study groups. I've noticed certain practitioners read loudly and fluently. Many know the superficial meaning of each sentence but do not pay attention to the inner connotation. Many pay attention to reading all the words correctly, but few really wonder if they are studying the Fa from within and not just superficially.

I asked some fellow practitioners and they agreed with what I observed. This is a problem. Do you understand the inner meaning when you study the Fa? If not, you are not assimilating to the Fa.

Pay Attention to Quality, Not Quantity

If one is not truly assimilating to the Fa, their righteous thoughts will be inadequate. He or she may then have ordinary people's thoughts and notions. When facing an issue, he or she will view it with human notions. The old forces will take advantage of the loophole and give rise to persecution or interference.

Given inadequate righteous thoughts and slow improvement of xinxing, Master's law bodies and righteous divine beings cannot help. As a result, he or she suffers the persecution or interference for far too long.

I have real experience concerning this. Master has stressed in his lectures that practitioners should study the Fa well. When I realized the importance of studying the Fa, I set up a requirement for myself: I study the Fa for two hours every day and pay attention to quality and not quantity.

I would not read the next sentence if one sentence did not enter my heart. The effect is really good, as I have experienced this during the past 10 years. I have not experienced any major persecution or interference. Some practitioners who contacted me often were persecuted. I was not implicated. I was not interfered with after filing a complaint against Jiang.

There are many articles on the Minghui website where some practitioners avoided the persecution after changing how they study the Fa and paying attention to it from deep within.

Actually, the old forces are not so powerful and cannot stand up to the righteousness of Dafa. Dafa is almighty. The old forces take advantage of our loopholes because we have not understood Dafa and cultivation well and do not study the Fa from within.

Master said, “The Fa can break all attachments, the Fa can destroy all evil, the Fa can shatter all lies, and the Fa can strengthen righteous thoughts.” (from “Drive Out Interference” in Essentials for Further Advancement II)